CCJS 105 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Behaviorism, Determinism, Scientific Method

• School: University of Maryland
• Department: Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Course: CCJS 105
• Professor: Kiminori Nakamura

Document Summary

Enlightenment: a major intellectual shift in the way people viewed the world and their place in it, questioning traditional religious and political values and substituting humanism, rationalism, and naturalism for supernaturalism. Believed in the dignity and worth of the individual. Beccaria (father of classical criminology) emphasized idea that citizens give up certain rights in order to gain protection from the state (social contract) Believed equals should be treated unequally, and unequals unequally. Equal and unequal determined only by crimes committed, not by social standing. Believed judges should not have authority to interpret laws; they should simply apply the punishment for a given offense statutorily defined by the legislature, wanted citizens to determine facts of the case. Three elements of punishment: certainty, swiftness, and severity. Hedonism: a doctrine assuming that the achievement of pleasure or happiness is the main goal of life.